


Can You Read My Mind

by hollyandvice (hiasobi_writes)



Series: Holly's Round Eight H/C Bingo Card [11]
Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Gen, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 09:36:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11399910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiasobi_writes/pseuds/hollyandvice
Summary: When he wakes up two weeks after his return to feel the dual pressure of the magic behind his mismatched eyes and the knowledge he's going to be responsible for the twins' amusement today, he almost wants to feign continued fatigue from his adventures. He may yet learn to love his brothers, but for now… for now he just wants torest.He forces himself to his feet anyway.Artemis and Holly deal with the fallout after their time in Limbo. AU from the end of TLC.





	Can You Read My Mind

It takes days for Artemis to even begin to get used to the magic under his skin. Truth be told, he never completely gets used to it, but he does at least become accustomed to it. The magic flickers, foreign and strange in the corners of his eyes and the corners of his mind, taking him by surprise more often than he's willing to admit. If there's one thing that has always been his, it's his mind, and to have it still present, still there, still _his_ , while also being ever so slightly _wrong_ feels like just one more layer over everything that's been so utterly _off_ since he got back from Limbo.

When he wakes up two weeks after his return to feel the dual pressure of the magic behind his mismatched eyes and the knowledge he's going to be responsible for the twins' amusement today, he almost wants to feign continued fatigue from his adventures. He may yet learn to love his brothers, but for now… for now he just wants to _rest_.

He forces himself to his feet anyway.

He feels the same tiny flicker behind his eyes that has kept him up late at night, and he can't help but squeeze the bridge of his nose, trying to hold back the way the magic instinctively tries to heal him in an effort to conserve his magic—perhaps he is past due to try to regain his powers at the local oak tree—but the second he even _thinks_ the word healing, he feels the magic snap into place, aligning something in his brain and—

_Well, it's about time Mud Boy._

Artemis blinks. "Holly?"

He can almost feel Holly flinch, but that can't be right, how— _Yes, it's me, Artemis, no need to shout._

_Telepathy,_ Artemis immediately deduces. _How on earth did that happen?_

_Why don't you tell me, Artemis? I thought you were out of magic._

_Well you can hardly expect me to so easily give up something my people haven't had in millennia, now can you?_

_Artemis._ The disappointment is apparent in Holly's tone, and Artemis lets himself lean against his bedframe.

_I couldn't, Holly,_ he insists, trying not to feel like a liar. _What other hope did I have of ensuring that I would be able to see you again?_

_You have the communicator,_ she insists quietly.

Artemis closes his eyes. _Not enough._

Holly snorts. _And you wonder how the telepathy came about._

_What?_

_Foaly and I have been doing some research, Mud Boy,_ and Artemis can't help the way the name feels more like a title than an insult when she says it. _There isn't much record of humans with magic left any more, but what little there is suggests that you were always dreamers, with more skill in shaping the world to your whims than you had any right to have. I can't say I'm surprised a mind like yours was able to shape the world to your whims so quickly and easily, but I would really appreciate the ability to sleep without a blinding headache. Think you can turn down the volume on this?_

Artemis blinks. _You don't want me to get rid of it altogether?_

Something like embarrassment creeps into Artemis' mind, and he isn't at all surprised to realize it isn't his, but Holly's. _I… can't say that I particularly mind. It'll make it easier to keep track of what kind of trouble you're getting into._

A smile creeps its way over Artemis' face. _I'll see what I can do, then, Holly._

Holly sniffs and, with a slight shift in his mind, Artemis feels the way a switch slips into place in his mind, allowing them both to turn the connection on and off at will. _Thanks, Artemis,_ she says before her end of the link goes quiet.

The smile on Artemis' face widens. Perhaps this won't be so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Unbetaed. Title from _Read My Mind_ by The Killers. [Come hang with me on tumblr!](http://hollyandvice.tumblr.com/)


End file.
